Barcelona enters into state of ‘pre-emergency’ due to drought

OVIEDO, Spain

Barcelona and surrounding municipalities are officially entering into a state of “pre-emergency” due to the ongoing drought, local authorities announced on Tuesday.

While avoiding most mandatory measures to save water, the government is trying to raise awareness in the population.

“It is essential for all of us to work together, as we have done so many times before, to save as much water as we can to keep an emergency away for as long as possible,” David Mascort, Catalan minister for climate change, said at a press conference.

Meteorologists forecast that the affected area will see little rain and warm temperatures in the weeks to come, exacerbating the drought that has been threatening the area for months.

The internal reservoirs serving the affected area are currently just 18.5% full. But by the end of December, when the full-blown emergency is likely to take effect, authorities predict that the reservoir would be closer to 16% full.

While there will be no water cuts, the government will reduce water pressure in some areas to reduce water consumption from 230 liters (60 gallons) to 210 liters per person each day. This is not expected to affect Barcelona, where consumption is already below the new threshold, according to La Vanguardia.

This summer, around 26,000 people in municipalities in Northeastern Catalonia already entered into a state of emergency due to the drought. This marked the first time the local government declared a drought emergency.

However, back in February, the Catalan government already announced mild restrictions in large parts of the region, including in Barcelona and Girona. These included prohibitions on watering ornamental gardens and reducing per capita consumption to 230 liters.

The last time Catalonia had adopted water restrictions was in 2008. That year, the drought got so bad that the government had to import drinking water by ship for Barcelona.

Much of Spain has been coping with a prolonged drought since 2022. While recent rains have increased the country’s national reservoir levels to 44% of capacity — significantly fuller than in 2022 — the precipitation has been unevenly distributed.

Large swathes of southern Spain, home to much of the country’s agricultural production, rely on reservoirs that are under 20% full, which is similar, and sometimes even worse, than the situation in Catalonia.